The Lady and the Count
by Cora Sinclair
Summary: Now that Mavis is out in the world with Johnny, Dracula grows increasingly lonely inside the Hotel. When he travels to the nearby human village to get some fresh air, he stumbles upon a lovely woman who bears a striking resemblance to his dear Martha. Dracula warms up to the woman but she isn't what she seems. The young woman has dangerous friends-friends intent on killing Dracula
1. Chapter 1

_The Bride of Dracula _

It was in the middle of the night as the mob gathered forth and charged into the forest towards the magnificent castle that stood proud in the bright moonlight. The occupants of the castle were wide-awake for they were nocturnal creatures and had a precious baby girl to take care of. They weren't aware of the growing danger that was slowly but surely making its way through the dense woods. It was not until the father, one Count Dracula who was raised in less than ideal conditions and finally earned his happiness; saw the flames of the torches dancing in the distance. The mob was already at the bridge and was gaining speed; they would be at the castle in no time. The Count fearing for his wife and newborn child's life sent them to the nursery which was by far the most secure room in the entire castle; nothing but sturdy walls and a single window that led to a balcony that no ordinary man could scale. The Count was sure his family would be safe while he went out to deal with the rabble who wished for theirs deaths.

The Count's wife, Martha, a lovely creature who in every word was a true lady was terrified that he would perish sought out words of comfort from him. The Count took his wife in embrace and said

"I will be back, they are only scared. Once they see how we truly are they will leave us alone."

"Honey…" She wrapped her arms tighter around his unusually skinny waist and buried her face into his broad chest, "Don't go, don't answer to them; we can leave and start over in a new town again."

The Count broke their embrace and brought her gaze to his shocking bright blue eyes. "My Darling Martha, nothing in the world would give me greater pleasure than to flee from them but then when would it end? They would only chase us from town to town, city to city, country to country; that is no life for you or our daughter."

The Count and Countess glanced over to their beloved daughter, playing in her crib, oblivious to the imminent menace that was at her home. Her mother picked up the baby girl and brought her over to her father.

"I think she wouldn't mind if it meant you were alive."

"Martha…" he sighed

The Countess put their daughter in his arms. Their daughter babbled and cooed happily, as she saw her father, he bounced gently to rock his daughter to sleep then put her back into her crib.

"All I ask," She whispered softly, "is that you stay safe. As long as you and our baby are safe then I am happy."

"I will be careful, my love. I will be safe and I will protect you and our child with all of my power forever."

He pressed his lips to her and bid her farewell. With a quick swish of his cape, he was already at the oak door ready to take on the peril that threatened to put his family in jeopardy.

"Honey?"

The Count stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to his beautiful bride. She was sitting in a rocking chair close to the baby. There were small tears had formed and were at risk to flow. Their baby girl sensing her mother's stress began to whimper and cry. Her father picked up the infant and did his best to calm down the unhappy little one. His efforts failed and the fussy tot began to cry louder.

"Oh no, no, no, no don't cry my little mouse. Daddy's here, daddy's here."

His little mouse wailed and showed her daddy a toothless frown. The Count pressed his head against her's in a last ditch attempt to cheer her up but the infant only cried louder. Her mother, stifling a giggle, motioned for her husband to come over to her. He handed the child to her and watched with worried eyes

"My beautiful Mavy~ let me wipe all your tears away~ those humans won't get you and if they do I will say~!" Martha roared a true vampiric scream. Mavis giggled and cooed at her mother's funny albeit scary face.

"That's a good girl, my beautiful vampire girl."

Mavis tittered as her mother held her high, the Countess laughed along with her. The Count watched contently at the scene before him. It was truly the picture-perfect moment of the perfect family. He could have listened to his wife's silvery laughter for hours on end but with the sound of a window, shattering brought the Count back to the terrifying scene unfolding beneath him. He strode out to the balcony and saw that the horde screaming out profanity and calling out for death.

"Martha I must go."

"Honey?"

"Martha I promise to be careful, for your sake."

"And Mavis?"

"I will protect her from them forever, I swear it to you."

Another window broke and the Count knowing that he couldn't stay any longer left. Little did he know that it would be the last time he would see Martha alive. Quickly, he descended the stairwell time was of the essence. He reached the second landing when the scent of smoke crossed his path. The rabble was pounding at the door, chucking anything they could get their hands on. A rock broke through another window and whizzed past his head, nearly hitting him. He snarled at the violence and wanted to retaliate but the Count, being a gentleman, knew that fighting fire with fire in this case would only end in disaster.

Looking towards the front door, he could effortlessly see the torches and pitchforks and every other weapon the mob had brought to destroy his family. He could not let it happen, he swore it to Martha that he would protect them. The Count paced towards the large oak door and gently opened it. The multitude of peasants and village folk gasped as they finally saw the legendary terror, the bane on their existence, the terrifying creature of the night that stalked their wives and children for his unholy blood lust, the fearsome and awe-inspiring Count Dracula!

"Vampire!" They screamed

"Demon!" they shouted

The Count had his work cut out for him.

"People, people, please calm down." The Count ducked down as someone hurled a rock at him. "I mean you no harm."

"Don't listen to the monster!" an angry crofter growled, "He'll trick you and then he'll kill you and your family!"

"I do no such thing!" defended the vampiric Count, "All I wish to do is raise my family in peace just like the rest of you."

"Liar!" the mob screeched, "MURDERER!"

They began to jab their pitchforks and torches at him. He raised his cape to defend himself from the heat. The Count cursed himself mentally he was making no progress whatsoever with these people and with each second that passed they only grew ornery which thus put Martha and Mavis' lives in danger. A short man in the far back threw his torch at the castle and the wall that it hit caught on fire instantly. It had been a dry season and with weather conditions being what they were, it made the stunning castle kindling. The others in the mob threw their torches at the castle. The flames grew faster and began to swallow up his home.

"Martha!"

Abandoning the rabble, he raced back to the nursery. The smoke on the way up choked him but he continued. All he could think about was his newborn baby and his dear Martha, suffocating from the smoke, burning in the fire. Halfway up in a clear zone without and smoke or debris he found Martha with her cloak on and carrying a crying Mavis who was in her swaddling.

Martha's Pov.

She watched them surround the castle. They had pitchforks and torches; some were chucking rocks at her home. One of the rocks cracked the window that she was watching from and startled her baby girl, Mavis. The child began to whimper and then she cried.

"Hush my darling," she cooed, "Mummy is here and Daddy will protect us."

Martha used her fingers to distract her child from the chaos outside. The baby Mavis gladly took her mother's pinky finger and began to suck on it. The Countess was relieved that at least for a short time she had managed to calm her child. The chaos inside of the castle wasn't much better; support beams to the roof were on fire and had fallen down, parts of the floor were slowly succumbing to the fire, and her husband had yet to return. She was so worried about him. Mavis fussed in her swaddling, she was anxious just like her mother.

"My beautiful Mavy~ let me wipe all your tears away~ those humans won't get you and if they do I will say~!"

Her scream was not as loud as it was before and the tune only brought small amount happiness to Mavis.

"I am pleased to see that at least one of us is happy."

Her husband appeared in front of her and had a sullen look on his face. She had heard him shout out her name tonight and knew that he was worried about their lives.

"What's it like out there, darling?"

The Count sighed wearily as he surveyed the damage from the windows.

"It isn't good. They've got the front of the castle blocked off and the East as well as the West. They can't get through to the South because of the garden but I'm afraid that they might just burn it to get through."

"What should we do?"

The Count looked at his wife then to his newborn daughter. He put a hand on Mavis head and felt a sort of calm. They had handled this better than he could ever ask them to.

"Honey?"

He locked eyes with his beautiful bride and said

"Go hide; I'll take care of this."

He kissed her and finally they parted ways.

"Villagers of Lubdoe, I plead to your sense of reason. We have done nothing to you. I-"

"Vampire!" they screamed

"Demon!" they shouted

Suddenly without any warning, there was a scream. It was of a woman and it was a woman that Dracula knew very well and cared so much about; it was Martha who had screamed.

"Martha!"

Then like a flash, Dracula left the rabble to seek out his dearly beloved Martha. He ran like a bat out of hell to the courtyard where he came upon a chilling sight. Martha was lying dead on the floor. Her throat slit open and her precious blood laced the cobblestone walkway.

"MARTHA!"

His world crumbled in an instant, the love of his life was gone. The Count dropped to his knees, he was panting. His hands shook as he looked over her lifeless body. Dracula's mind was racing; Martha was gone, and Mavis was going to grow up without ever know- wait where was Mavis?

Mavis' wailing brought him out of his initial shock. There was a strange man, wearing a ratty old trench coat and a brown hat a couple of feet away from him. He was holding a knife that was drenched in his beloved's blood and he had Mavis in his hands. Dracula was going to kill him.

"YOU MONSTER!"

The Count leaped over his wife's corpse to attack the man before he harmed his baby girl. He clawed the intruder, scarring his face and promptly strangled him. The Count finally got a good look at the man's face. He was young, around his mid-thirties, with messy dark as dirt hair. His face, which the Count assumed at one point, had to be good looking before he torn half of it off, was round and he had a cleft chin. A slight trace of blood was visible on his lips but Dracula could not tell whether it was from the human or Martha's after the human had killed her. The intruder was scared and he had good reason to be; the Count had his left hand around his oh-so easily breakable neck and was tightening his grip every time he struggled. In the Count's right hand, he was holding Mavis whose wails were lost over the roar of the fire that claimed her home.

"Why did you do this?" the vampire hissed

Dracula could feel the mortal's blood racing through his veins. Oh, how badly he wanted the human's blood to spill. The trespasser however, had no plans to be killed by the vampire's rage or answer any of his questions. He let go of his original plan to try and break the vampire's grasp on his throat and went with back-up plan which entailed going for his second weapon. The human managed to grab his crossbow and shot at the Count who grasped at his side.

"DIE VAMPIRE SCUM!" shouted the human as he reloaded the crossbow with another stake.

Ah, but Dracula was much faster than the human could fire. Even with his child in his arms, he still managed with his speed and strength to dodge the deadly stakes. The Count grabbed the human by his scrawny neck and threw him like a football and into the burning house. Mavis cried louder in her father's arms and wanted comfort but the Count had no comfort of any kind to give; he was numb. Only the sound of the approaching mob who with little doubt wanted his and his daughter's lives brought him out of his stupor.

"Vampire!" they screamed

"Demon!" they shouted

"Monster!"

The Count's muscles tensed. They dared to call him a monster while his wife, a new mother, who never in her life harmed anybody, lied dead on the cold ground. How dare they. Such accusations came at a hefty price and that price was going to cost them their lives. He ran, putting Mavis in a nearby bush fifty feet where she would be protected. They wouldn't go after her, no, they wanted him dead first then they would attack his baby and that was something he would never let happen.

Three of them came running at him with pitchforks and a torch. He easily broke their weapons and threw the torch back at the mob; they scattered like cockroaches under a light. He picked up two of them and bashed their heads against each other. The third man was defenseless and watched in horror as his fellow farmers fell to the ground dead. The Count grabbed the third man and like the torch threw it to the crowd. The man flew forty feet into the air before he finally hit the ground with a sickening thud. The people in the mob screamed in fear as his head split open and let the entire group see his brains.

The Count now had a blood lust going. The air was thick of the smell of fear and blood and Dracula had no intention of stopping at only three. Now ten from the pack, in an effort to avenge the fallen, charged at the bloodthirsty demon. Without any effort, Dracula killed them all. He had ripped their throats out with his claws. They died before they hit the earth.

Dracula let out a snarl to scare away any other foolish humans who thought that they could get the upper hand in this battle. Some of them backed away but a few with guns in hand shot at him. A bullet grazed his shoulder and went right through the right side of his waist. The man who shot him grinned triumphantly, thinking he had wounded the demon but he had only angered him. The Count howled and with his super strength grabbed the gun and bent it in his grasp. The man who had shot him cried out in fear and he tried to get away. Dracula however, didn't let it happen; he took the man and snapped his neck. The man crumbled into a heap, the light in his eyes went out and just like the others, he was dead.

"Who else dares to face my wrath?!" he snarled. The Count's bared his fangs and sneered at the cowardly crowd; they backed away instantly.

"_Typical humans_," Dracula thought to himself, "_Always brave when they outnumber their enemy._"

"Come after my family again and I will kill you all!"

Nervous glances were exchanged among the horde and they fled. When they were all gone, Dracula collapsed onto the earth. He was drained emotionally and psychically, the once proud Count began to cry silently. His wife was dead, his home burning, his entire world was gone; what was he going to do now?

His daughter's crying brought his attention to her hiding spot. He strode over to the bush where he had hidden her. Dracula looked over his little mouse with love only a father could have. Mavis' wails quieted once she saw her father. The baby raised her arms up and grasped her tiny hands at him as a sign of wanting to be held. Her father picked her up and tucked her safely under his cloak. Suddenly a part of the castle crumbled and crashed startling the baby. Mavis cried and Dracula rocked her slowly

"My little Mavy~ Don't worry I will stay~ Mommy might be gone but I will always stay~"

Mavis squirmed in her swaddling. Even though she was safe, she probably wasn't comfortable from all the heat.

"Shush my little mouse, Daddy will take of care of you."

His daughter babbled and cooed at her father. The Count kissed Mavis on her forehead and glanced back at Martha. What was he to do? The sun would eventually rise and then Martha would wither away into dust. He couldn't let that happen, not a chance in hell would he let that happen to Martha. She deserved a burial better than that. The Count bent down to his wife and stroked her hair. Even in death, she was a vision. Oh, what he would give to see her eyes open with light. He placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Martha…." He whispered, "Wh-why couldn't it have been me?"

Mavis hiccupped in her father's arms and whined at the sight of her mother. She was going to cry soon.

"Oh, no, no, no my mouse; keep a brave face. Do it for mommy…"

Mavis fussed and then whined at something in distance. Dracula stood up and with his extraordinary sight; he saw an even bigger mob coming his way. The humans came back with reinforcements. These weren't your normal peasants and day laborers whose weapons were basic and crude, no, these were experienced lawmen. Lawmen were usually the toughest in the village and because the monster superstition they came prepared and they would be here in no time. Dracula cursed, he could handle your run of the mill mob but with the extra firepower and his current state, he couldn't fight them all. The Count glanced down at his wife one more time before fleeing with Mavis. He had promised Martha that he would protect her and Mavis, he had failed once but he would _not _fail again.

The Count ran quite the distance before he came to a stop on top of a rather large hill. His back ached and his shoulder was killing him. He rested on the hill staring off into the distance as the black smoke billowed from the enormous fire finally swallowed his once magnificent home.

He hated humans….


	2. Chapter 2

A Light over at Frankenstein's Place

"So Wanda calls me and lets me know that she's expecting another bundle of joy. And I say to her "what does Wayne think?" She says to me that Wayne's excited and hoping for a girl and I'm shocked! I would have never guessed that he wanted a girl! I…"

Eunice was on a tear. She had been communicating with Wanda for the better part of the night talking about the werewolf's latest pregnancy and now she couldn't stop talking about it. Almost anyone who hadn't known the loud but kindhearted reanimated corpse would've gone crazy from her constant talking however, her husband Frank was used to her longwinded rants about the latest gossip and took them with a gentle nod and a thoughtful "Yes Dear" when she asked his opinion.

The match made pair were eating dinner in their castle in Germany. They had left their castle in England to be close to Martha and Dracula when the couple were finally ready to show their first child to their closest friends. Martha and Dracula had decided that they wanted to keep the baby out of the public's eye for a few days after the birth. Frank and Dracula went back a long time and Frank was looking forward to being an uncle. As his wife chatted away about Wayne's wanting for a little werewolf girl, Frank wondered what gender Drac's and Martha's baby would be. Martha had hinted in a letter that she highly suspected it was going to be a girl but Eunice boasted that it would be a boy. Frank chuckled at his wife's previous over reacting to the mystery over the baby's gender.

"Frank!" Eunice called out, "What are you laughing at?" her lips were posed in a tight pout.

"Oh, nothin' just remembered a joke that Murray told me." He smiled

"Hmp, that Murray, when do you think he's going to settle down with that- oh what's her name?"

"Cleo?" offered Frank

"Yes that's her name; Cleo! When do you think he'll settle down with her?"

Frank shrugged his shoulders "I dunno they've been on and off for a couple of decades, Murray's not really the settling down kind of guy. I think he's happy being a bachelor for the rest of his life."

Eunice laughed loudly, "That's what you said about Drac, remember?" she pointed her fork accusingly at her husband, "And then he took one vacation to Hawaii and ZING! He's been madly in love with Martha ever since."

"True, true….what do you think they'll name the kiddo?"

"I have no idea but the latest gossip is that the name starts with an M."

"Huh, so no idea on whether the baby's a boy or girl?" Asked Frank disappointedly

"No, which is terrible because-"

There was a large gong, the doorbell, which rang through the castle and shook everything in the castle.

"Oh who could that be?" shouted Eunice angrily

She couldn't stand the doorbell at all; it was much too loud for her liking.

"Frank!" she barked, "Go see who's at the door!"

Her husband got up from his seat at the table and obeyed his wife's command. He was curious to see who could possibly be at the door. Perhaps it was a messenger from Drac and Martha announcing the birth of their kid? The monster picked up his pace and raced to the door. He opened it with gusto but when he what he saw wasn't a grand invitation from the Count to see his newborn child but a rundown Count, covered in blood and mud and had a bundle in his arms. Dracula's shocking blue eyes were now large, dull, and empty, his entire body shook from the cold and his face was gaunt like he hadn't eaten in a couple of days.

"DRAC! What the heck happened to you?" he grabbed the much smaller man who looked like he was going to pass out.

"….frank may i come in…?" the vampire rasped, "…it's cold outside…."

"You don't even have to ask, buddy, get in here!"

Frank pulled the Count into the castle and shut the door with a bang before any more heat could escape into the night. The Frankenstein monster turned back to his vampiric friend who was sitting on the foyer couch. The Count was holding the mysterious bundle in his arms and didn't take his eyes off it.

"Drac what happened?"

Dracula didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"…she's gone frank…" whispered the broken vampire

"Who's gone, Drac?" Then it occurred to him that Martha was nowhere in sight, "Wait, where's Martha? Drac, where's Martha?"

Dracula turned to the corpse and said "….they killed her…martha is dead….."

"WHAT!?"

The bundle in the Count's arms began to squirm and then a baby with bright blue eyes popped her head out of her swaddling.

"Is that…?"

"…our daughter..." Smiled Dracula sadly, as he handed his child to Frank, "…her name is Mavis, Martha named her…."

The baby vampire grabbed playfully at the monster. Frank held Mavis close to his chest "Buddy she's beautiful, I-"

"FRANK! WHO'S AT THE DOOR!" Eunice shrieked

"It's Dracula, Eunice, get over here!"

"DON'T YOU YELL INDOORS!"

Frank heard a thud and looked down to where Dracula had once been sitting. The vampire was no longer on the couch but on the floor unconscious.

"Whoa, whoa, Drac!"

"Frank what's going on?" shouted Eunice as she came down the stairs and stomped into the foyer, "I heard you say Dracula was here and oh!"

Eunice saw the vampire Count collapsed on the floor and his daughter in Frank's arms.

"What happened here?!"

Frank turned to his match made in scientific heaven and said in a soft voice

"Martha died."

Word spread through the entire monster community of the tragedy of the Dracula family. The Mother, Martha, died in a fight with humans, the Father, Vlad, in a comatose with no word on him ever recovering, and their newborn child, Mavis, who had no other vampire family to go to was now temporarily orphaned. Luckily, for Mavis her parents had plenty of friends who were willing to take care of her. Murray came as soon as Frank and Eunice sent out word on Dracula's collapse while Griffin chose to investigate the Count's once prestigious home. Wayne and Wanda sent replies that they would come as soon as their doctor okayed it for Wanda to move around extensively. Speaking of doctors, Eunice and Frank had sent out for Drac's doctor to diagnose his unusual condition. The doctor, one Nirv Schubert, couldn't come so Griffin decided to take over for his vampire friend's health. The Mummy had arrived at the Steins castle five days after Dracula crumpled in the foyer.

Murray brought an entire sandstorm with him into the castle and shouted, "Frankie! Where is he?"

"Quiet!' shushed the corpse, "Eunice finally got Mavis to fall asleep."

The Mummy adjusted his tone and asked "Where's Drac?"

"In the basement sleeping. The poor guy hasn't woken up."

"How long has he been out?"

"Five days straight." Sighed Frank

He was worried about the vampire. Martha had died, He hadn't eaten in God knows how many days, and his exposure to the cold as he traveled could not have been good for his health. On the bright side, Mavis was healthy. She was well fed, perfectly happy but she cried for hours if she didn't see her Father.

"How's the baby?" asked Murray as he followed Frank to the makeshift nursery

"Mavis? She's fine, Eunice is taking care of her."

"Eunice is taking care of her and she's fine? Isn't that an oxymoron?' asked a bodiless voice

"Griffin? Is that you?" asked Murray looking everywhere

"Present, pretty, and here."

"Yeah but where is here?" asked Frank

"Right behind you big guy."

Griffin poked the reanimated corpse who asked "When did you get here?"

"I snuck in right behind Murray." He explained jokingly

"So what did ya find out at the castle?" asked Murray

The Invisible Man's tone changed entirely and replied mournfully, "You don't want to know what I found at the castle."

"That bad?"

"Worse, but I'll explain later once everyone gets here. Anybody know when Wayne and Wanda are getting here?"

Murray shrugged his shoulders, "Dunno, Wayne's nervous about Wanda's pregnancy cause of the stress of…."

Murray trailed off, it was too painful to talk about Martha.

"losin' Martha." Finished Griffin, "Yeah, it's been rough on all of us. Has Drac made any improvement?"

"No, course we don't know what wrong with him in the first place so, you know it's anybody's guess. He's just asleep and it's not a normal vampire sleep either, he's as stiff as a bored."

"Are we sure he isn't…dead?" asked Griffin

"I can't tell if he's breathing or not but I don't even want to consider that as an option." Admitted Frank

"I'll take a look at him later…."

The trio stood in silence contemplating their current situation. Frank broke the silence and asked in a small voice "You guys want to see Mavis?"

"Where's Mavy~? Where's Mavy~? Oh, there she is! There's my Mavy!" Eunice giggled.

The Bride of Frankenstein was playing Peek-A-Boo with the baby vampire and she was having a blast. Eunice blew on Mavis' bellybutton and she got shrieks of joy from the child.

"Oh you are too cute!"

Mavis babbled in agreement.

A knock at the nursery's door stopped their fun for the moment and Eunice shouted "Who is it?"

"It's me Honey."

Frank opened the door and squeezed through the doorframe, "Murray and Griffin are here; wanted to show them little Mavis."

Murray and Griffin followed Frank into the nursery. They were bowled over at how quickly Eunice and Frank got the necessary items to take care of the baby. Eunice would later explain that she looked up how to take care of vampire children and spared no expense in making sure that Mavis would be comfort. Speaking of comfort, vampire babies are particularly difficult to take care of and usually don't like to be held by anyone excluding their parents but Mavis had grown incredibly fond of Eunice and Frank. eagerly looked over Frank to see the baby. Eunice stood up and walked over to her husband and friends.

"Isn't she beautiful?" asked Eunice, "She takes after Martha."

Murray, Griffin, and Frank awed over the vampire baby who happily sucked on her thumb.

"Aw…"

"She's got Martha's nose." Chuckled Frank

"Thank God, could you image if she had Drac's schnoz?" asked Griffin who his friends assume he had a smirk on his invisible face

"She would still a be beautiful little vampy." Cooed Murray as he wiggled a chubby bandage at the giggling baby

Mavis sucked on the bandage but Eunice pulled it out of her mouth, "No, no Mavy don't suck on those nasty old bandages here suck on your pacifier."

Eunice put a skull shaped pacifier in her mouth.

"Hey, my bandages might be old but they are not nasty-" he took a whiff of the bandage to prove his point but gagged at the smell, "Okay they're nasty."

Griffin chuckled and asked Eunice "Can I hold her?"

"Sure, but be careful, watch her head."

"I got her." Griffin rocked Mavis. Her head was looking everywhere to see what was holding her up. Then she saw Griffin's glasses and cooed and laughed.

"Aw, she likes you." Commented Murray

"Huh, coulda sworn she would've freaked out." Admitted the Invisible Man

"Nah, she's a vampire, she thinks she's flying; she loves it!" smiled Frank

Mavis attempted to grab his glasses but finding her arms to short she began to whine.

"Uh, Frank man do wanna hold her?" asked Griffin nervously. He didn't want to make her cry.

"Sure buddy."

"Frank be careful." Warned his wife.

"I'm careful, I'm careful." Frank held the vampire child carefully in his arms and said "She's so tiny."

"Compare to you, maybe but to Drac she's the perfect size."

"Drac, yeah…." The softhearted giant looked down at Mavis, she had fallen asleep in his huge arms. She didn't have a mom now and with Drac being out…the corpse was worried about the future of his niece.

"So how's Drac doing?" asked Eunice, "have you checked up on him yet?"

"Not yet, I wanted to see how Mavis was. How was she when Drac came?"

"Perfectly fine. She had on a clean diaper, she was fed, she was clean, she was everything that you want for a kid to be."

"And Drac?"

"Guy was a mess." Frank shook his head sadly "Looked like a zombie."

"Hmm…well I guess there's no time like the present. Let's go see our zombie vamp."

One of the nice things about living/renting a castle is that all castles ever built, mostly by high-class vamps, have spacious basements that usually come equipped with a standard coffin or slab depending on what your vampire prefers. Dracula was lying on a slab. Frank thought the slab would be a better choice so Drac didn't have a panic attack if he woke up in a small-enclosed space.

"Well here he is." Sighed Frank

Griffin's glasses bobbled around the vampire. The Invisible Man lifted up the Count's wrist and checked for a pulse.

"Well good news is that he's alive."

"Okay good to know," commented Eunice as she held a sleeping Mavis, "But what's wrong with him?"

"Yeah, is he in a coma, dying, what?" asked Murray

"Elementary my dear Murray, our friend here is in a coma."

"Thank you Capitan Obvious but what caused him to be in a coma?"

Griffin sighed and asked "Hey Frank in detail how did Drac appear when he came knocking?"

"Like hell, he looked like he had been in a fight, like he hadn't eaten in a couple of days. His eyes were sunken and his face was grim and hollow."

"Damn…." Cursed Griffin

"What?" asked Murray

"I think I know what happened to Drac." Admitted Griffin with zero enthusiasm

"And-"

"Well for starters he's been shot." Interrupted a voice, male, hidden somewhere out of sight

"Who was that?!" asked Eunice

There was the sound was claws clicking against the stone flooring. Popping out of the shadows came a snarky Wayne and a pregnant Wanda.

"When did you guys get in here? I didn't even hear you!" shouted Murray causing Mavis to wake up and cry

"Murray!" scolded Eunice

"Oh! My bad, my bad, my bad." Grimaced the Mummy

"Guys we practically live in the shadows, sneaking into this castle is like a walk in the park for us." Grinned Wayne

"Oh let's see the little one." Said Wanda

Eunice automatically handed the screaming baby to the werewolf woman. Wanda who had the maternal instinct of a hundred mothers had no trouble calming down the fussy baby.

"She's so precious." Awed Wanda as she nuzzled Mavis

Wayne looked over the baby and had a small smile come over his usually sarcastic mouth "So this is Drac's and Martha's kiddo? She's got Drac's hair and eyes-"

"But Martha's nose and smile." Countered his werewolf bride

"Yeah," smiled Frank, "B-But anyway you were saying? Drac was shot?"

Wayne nodded as he took his eyes off of the adorable baby. "Yup. He's been shot twice, with a rifle from a distance. The first shot was in the shoulder then the guy got him in his waist, went through his back but the bullet passed through."

Wanda giggled, "You still have it honey."

"Thanks dear." He kissed her on the cheek and went back to his examination of Dracula.

"Good nose Wayne, but do you know who shot him?" asked Griffin

Wayne took a deep breath and his eyes grew wide with fear. "Humans."

The room full of monsters gasped and Wanda held baby Mavis closer to her.

"Oh poor dear…."

"It fits in what I found." Replied Griffin

"What did you find?" asked Murray

"Drac's castle was burned, it's nothing but shaky remains now. In the back courtyard there was a pool of blood and there were signs that a body was dragged away." Griffin remained silent for a few seconds, "I think it was Martha, it's the only scenario that makes sense."

"They killed her an' then they take her body?" asked Murray with disgust, "Humans are sick."

"And heartless." Growled Wayne as he pulled Wanda closer to him, "Killing a mother, they have no decency."

Wanda shook her head sadly and looked down at the vampire baby, "I feel so bad for Drac. He loved Martha so much…"

"I hear ya girl but we got a bigger problem. What's happening to Drac?"

"Well before I was interrupted," snapped the Invisible Man, "I've heard about this before in vampires. When they go through something traumatic, say losing a wife, they normally go into this mental zone to cope with the pain but if you combine being tortured and losing Martha and his home it could be enough to put him into a state of shock."

"….i wasn't tortured…" breathed Drac

His friends turned around to the slab where the vampire had been sleeping. He was now awake and sitting up on the slab. His elbows were on his knees and his hands were under his chin. Dracula still looked terrible but at least he was awake now.

"Drac!" Frank cried out, "How long have you been awake?"

The Count shrugged "Last couple of minutes from when Griffin was talking about M-Martha's…I…" his voice broke and he gritted his teeth

The vampire rubbed his face with his hand, "I thought it was all a bad dream…." He whispered sadly as fresh tears rolled down his face.

Wanda took a seat, with Wayne's help of course, next to Dracula.

"Drac, sweetie? What happened?"

He sighed, "We were attacked by humans. I tried to talk to those who attacked us while Martha hid away with Mavis. One of the people from the mob found her and he-he…he slit her throat." Cried Drac. He could still see her when he closed his eyes. It wasn't pleasant.

"Oh Drac…"

"Poor Martha…"

"I heard her scream but I wasn't fast enough to save her. The man who killed her had Mavis in his hands and I lost it, I nearly broke his neck and I threw him into the fire. Some more people from the mob thought that they could get the upper hand and they shot me but I…."

Dracula trailed off remembering every little detail that had happened. The fire, the villager's screaming, all of it came rushing back at him like he was just there.

"I only stopped whenever Mavis need food or to be bathed."

"Did you do anything for yourself?" asked Wayne

The broken vampire shook his head no.

"I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep…I kept having day dreams of Martha and I-I…"

"It's okay buddy you don't have to say anything." Said Frank putting an encouraging hand on the vamp's shoulder.

Drac was silently thankful for the corpse. He couldn't go on, it was far too painful. Mavis fussed in Wanda's arms when she saw her father.

"Drac, sweetie, I think she wants you."

Drac took his daughter from the werewolf mother and smiled woefully, "Oh my little Mavis…I'll always protect you…"


End file.
